cruzeluver Posted April 4, 2016 #26 Share Posted April 4, 2016 As long as we're putting in requests, let's add Charleston to the mix. I've always wanted to sail out of there. Yes, please! It was so wonderful when X was here in Charleston. Our Mercury cruise out of Charleston ranks as one of our best. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Rare orville99 Posted April 4, 2016 Author #27 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Its' nice enough that Royal and NCL homeport year round however you did not address the main point of having only half the ships of the other lines. Whose main point? Certainly not mine. I was simply asking a question in my OP, not getting into a debate about numbers. However, if you want to argue numbers, how many ships from those other lines actually sail out of Florida (either year round or seasonally)? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeremiah1212 Posted April 4, 2016 #28 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I would say with Royal's planned expansion at Port of Miami could result in Celebrity being even more cemented to the South Florida market. Royal moving more traffic to Miami could free up space at Fort Lauderdale, or allow Celebrity more even space in Miami. With the options Celebrity currently has in South Florida it would seem strange to have a ship at PC without making a major shift in home ports. For those who fly to port, Miami and Fort Lauderdale are much easier options than flying into Orlando and making the trek to the coast. As a whole, the vibe and clientele Celebrity is seeking definitely leans more Miami-esque than Orlando too. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Muushka Posted April 4, 2016 #29 Share Posted April 4, 2016 Its' nice enough that Royal and NCL homeport year round however you did not address the main point of having only half the ships of the other lines. Even better!:) Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
osborne66 Posted April 4, 2016 #30 Share Posted April 4, 2016 We're Elite on X, but the drive down to FLL or Miami is getting tougher to do every year, and X pulls all of their ships out of the Caribbean between May and October. We would love to take one of their longer (10-14 night) cruises out of PC so we can do some ports that just aren't offered on the same ol' currently out of PC without having to do the trek down to FLL. No sympathy here Orville99, at least you have Celebrity ships with FLL or MIA as their home ports. For us in the Dallas/Fort worth area we have to fly to the West or east Coast or Europe if we want to sail Celebrity. It is all part of the adventure Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampbabe Posted April 4, 2016 #31 Share Posted April 4, 2016 With regard to your comment about driving in Miami: I echo your feelings exactly! I will never, ever again drive on I-95 into downtown Miami. How I survived my first experience was a near miracle. Get off and use the surface streets well before downtown, much slower I am sure. But, more sane. Port Canaveral has expanded their facilities and, unless I am mistaken from what I observed in January, has one new terminal not being used at all at this time. Given the planned increase in the size of the Celebrity fleet, I would not discount the possibility of Port Canaveral being used. After all, Port Everglades and Miami seem to be at, or close to, their maximum on most Winter season week-ends. Where will the new vessels home berth? I-95 into Miami is one of the easiest drives there is. Takes you right to the tunnel and into the port. We drove down on March 19 from Melbourne and were parking the car in under three hours. As a Miami native I would NEVER recommend surface streets to someone that was not familiar with the area. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
rkacruiser Posted April 4, 2016 #32 Share Posted April 4, 2016 I-95 into Miami is one of the easiest drives there is. Takes you right to the tunnel and into the port. We drove down on March 19 from Melbourne and were parking the car in under three hours. As a Miami native I would NEVER recommend surface streets to someone that was not familiar with the area. With all due respect to your experience as a native Miamian, you must have never encountered the numerous I-95 drivers switching lanes, 2-3 at a time with no turn signals activated as I did. I swear this is the truth: one idiot ended up inches from my front bumper after changing from 2 lanes away. Given the maps I see, when traffic is sane, I-95 to the port ought to be easy and simple. When the idiots are "out and about", well, that is another story! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Swampbabe Posted April 4, 2016 #33 Share Posted April 4, 2016 (edited) With all due respect to your experience as a native Miamian, you must have never encountered the numerous I-95 drivers switching lanes, 2-3 at a time with no turn signals activated as I did. I swear this is the truth: one idiot ended up inches from my front bumper after changing from 2 lanes away. Given the maps I see, when traffic is sane, I-95 to the port ought to be easy and simple. When the idiots are "out and about", well, that is another story! Of course I've encountered those folks. Where do you think I learned how drive? You just have to pay attention. Again, driving on surface streets in the downtown area when you're not familiar with it is not a good idea. Besides, folks drive crazy all over town. Miami is just like any other city with bad traffic, just pay attention. Biggest problem sometimes is tourists that don't know where they're going.;) Edited April 4, 2016 by Swampbabe Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Silvery Seas Cruiser Posted April 5, 2016 #34 Share Posted April 5, 2016 Actaully the worst madness is at Port Miami itself with all the taxis, buses, vans and passenger cars jockeying for position at the terminal gates as they pick up or drop off passengers or try to figure out which terminal to go to, how to park, or how to leave the port, etc. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
north29 Posted April 5, 2016 #35 Share Posted April 5, 2016 NO X boat for PC. Maybe Tampa, I still do not know why RC leaves Tampa in the Summer. PC and Tampa are basically the same areas, with the same basic type of cruisers and demographics. However PC is a piece of cake to get on a cruise ship, Tampa, unless it is your 2 or third time cruising from can be a PITA. Actually I like Tampa, but I live reasonably close. One thing I have noticed several travel agencies in "The Villages" area are, offering a free bus to and from the pier to all port on many cruises. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ChucktownSteve Posted April 5, 2016 #36 Share Posted April 5, 2016 (edited) As long as we're putting in requests, let's add Charleston to the mix. I've always wanted to sail out of there. I like Charleston. It's a great lifestyle city to live in or visit. However I disagree with you about embarking/disembarking here as it is presently configured. I've done it twice. Once on the Celebrity Mercury and once on Carnival. The current cruise terminal is too small. Also you have to be shuttled to the terminal because of homeland security so no walk ups or drop offs. That means lugging your carry-on bags on the shuttles as well. The shuttles are mostly tour vehicles with no space for luggage. They've been trying to get a new terminal built further up the peninsula but the environmental wackos and elitist downtown residents don't want any ships here. So they're fighting the new terminal. That being said, I did love the convenience of a friend dropping us off at the port without driving or flying out of town. I also enjoyed the Celebrity cruise very much once we left the dock. :-D Edited April 5, 2016 by ChucktownSteve Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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